Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer
Cast: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, Jeté Laurence, Hugo & Lucas Lavoie, John Lithgow
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Violence)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:
Opening Day: 4 April 2019
Synopsis: Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King, Pet Sematary follows Dr. Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who, after relocating with his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two young children from Boston to rural Maine, discovers a mysterious burial ground hidden deep in the woods near the family’s new home. When tragedy strikes, Louis turns to his unusual neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), setting off a perilous chain reaction that unleashes an unfathomable evil with horrific consequences.
Movie Review:
Stephen King’s IT reboot was a phenomenal success. So it’s only natural for directors Kevin Kolsh and Dennis Widmyer to feel a little pressured when resurrecting PET SEMATARY - arguably one of Stephen King’s darkest titles. On top of box office and fan expectations, Kolsh-Widmyer has the difficult task of keeping the film fresh, as the script sticks closely to the 1983 novel, much like the 1989 adaptation. The challenge, again, feels like it’s cousin IT.
Does the film succeed? Well, partly.
The Creed family moves to the sleepy town of Maine to adjust their pace of life. Everything is perfect, until they realise two things about their property that mars their picture-perfect new lifestyle. The first, is the house’s proximity to a road frequented by speeding heavy vehicles. This is quickly introduced when they move, and provides an instant rattling start.
The second, is the existence of a pet cemetary (written incorrectly as “sematary” by a child) where local town kids go to bury their animals in. This particularly does not sit well with Rachel Creed (Amy Seimetz), for reasons we will find out later.
Ellie Creed (Jete Laurence), the curious daughter that she is, begins investigating the site, before being warned away by her neighbour and new friend, Jud (John Lithgow). She also starts asking pointed questions about death, which stirs up conflict between Doctor Louis Creed (Jason Clarke), who believes there’s nothing after death, and her mother Rachel, who believes there’s life after death.
This would all remain philosophical, if not for the fact that Church, the family cat, becomes roadkill. Afraid of how the girl will react, Jud brings Louis past our pet cemetary to an ancient burial ground, where he instructs him to bury the cat. Why? Because it brings back the dead.
As you can imagine, this soon spirals out of control when a member of the Creeds gets killed by another truck.
PET SEMATARY should have been a compelling case study on death, grief, choices and boundaries. Instead, it never gains traction or believability. The dichotomy’s potential never really manifests as a struggle, and feels more like a hacked approach to give the characters some irrelevant back story.
One of the best side arcs in the book, Rachel’s anxiety, comes from a secret guilt. Forced to take care of her deformed sister Zelda (Alyssa Levine) with spinal meningitis when she was young, she thought it better that her sister was dead. This, unfortunately, becomes true one day when her sister falls down the dumbwaiter which she uses to send food up. This spectacular struggle between Rachel’s guilt and relief should have been unravelled with greater effect, but the directors seemed to use the flashbacks as horror interludes featuring some body horror moments.
Even Jud’s behaviour is erratic and senseless. His decision to take Louis to the mi’kmaq burial ground is baffling, and one that he explains copiously to the point that it feels like a cop-out.
One of the most memorable characters in the original novel and film, was Victor Pascow. As the ghost of a deceased student that the doctor tried to help, he is harbinger to the events to come and even steers the characters in some cases. The newest Victor (Obssa Ahmed) is nothing more than an apparition that warns and gets ignored.
And that’s the thing. The novel and original adaptation moves more organically, with motivations that becomes divisive in philosophy that gives great conflict, and side arc reveals that add to the unbearable despair of death (such as the housekeeper who hangs herself because of the pain from cancer).
In comparison, PET SEMATARY is a straight line, crafting horror elements in isolated story pods that don’t come together cohesively.
And to be honest, Louis is an ultra bland lead. The out-of-control spiral that is core to the story plods along here, rather than develop with believable intention. In particular, Louis’s despair at losing his child is as sudden as it is annoying, because his mania comes across incredibly contrived.
While creative decisions try to refresh PET SEMATARY with new twists, it eventually just comes across like a pastel coat of paint on a gothic house - ill-fitting.
Movie Rating:
(A patchy handling, with transparent scripting that got distracted from the core philosophy horror, makes this newest adaptation all about missed opportunities)
Review by Morgan Awyong
Genre: Adventure/Action
Director: Christian Rivers
Cast: Hugo Weaving, Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Jihae, Ronan Raftery, Leila George, Patrick Malahide, Stephen Lang
Runtime: 2 hr 9 mins
Rating: PG (Violence)
Released By: UIP
Official Website:
Opening Day: 6 December 2018
Synopsis: Hundreds of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, humankind has adapted and a new way of living has evolved. Gigantic moving cities now roam the Earth, ruthlessly preying upon smaller traction towns. Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan)—who hails from a Lower Tier of the great traction city of London—finds himself fighting for his own survival after he encounters the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar). Two opposites, whose paths should never have crossed, forge an unlikely alliance that is destined to change the course of the future.
Movie Review:
Peter Jackson has been at the front and centre of the promotional campaign for ‘Mortal Engines’, the first in a series of four YA novels by British author Philip Reeve, so much so that you might think that he is its filmmaker in the same way as ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’ trilogies. But despite being a passion project of his, Jackson is only its co-writer and co-producer, having handed directorial duties to his long-time VFX artist-collaborator Christian Rivers. That distinction pretty much explains why the movie is what it is – visually spectacular from start to finish, but in both plotting and characterisation, as clunky as some of the second-, even third-rate, steampunk metropolises that we see in the film.
Oh yes, to say that ‘Mortal Engines’ looks gorgeous on the big-screen is in itself an understatement. Every single element of the distant post-apocalyptic future that it is set is intriguing, be it the giant motorised cities propelled on rusty treads and steel wheels that barrel through the barren wastelands, or the flying airships of a band of rebel pilots called the Anti-Traction League and the floating city of Airhaven where they gather, or the half-machine half-zombie stalkers built of dead persons with their nervous systems implanted in cyborgs which are hence devoid of feelings and memories. There is plenty of mythic world-building potential in the material, and it’s not hard to see why Jackson was attracted to it in the first place, or why he had chosen to hand the reins of the movie to Rivers.
These strengths are evident right from the get-go, which opens with an exhilarating sequence where the towering predator city of London engages in a death race through what is left of Europe with one component of a quaint mining colony . After a nail-biting pursuit, London shoots massive harpoons at the helpless hamlet to reel it in, and eventually gobbles it up to plunder its resources while consigning its inhabitants to be low-level immigrants within the city. Similarly, the finale that unfolds as a showdown between London and the walled-up nation state of Shan Guo is just as breathtaking, alternating between the awesome destruction wrought by London’s quantum-powered super-weapon known as MEDUSA and the guerrilla airborne counter-attack launched by a couple of Anti-Traction rebels.
But in between these graphically stunning episodes is a much more pedestrian story that feels like it was scavenged from better fantasy epics, comprising essentially of a naïve apprentice historian cum wannabe flyboy hero Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan) who teams up with the mysterious scarred assassin Hester Shaw (Icelandic actress Hera Hilmar) to stop the power-hungry Thaddeus Valentine (Hugo Weaving) from unleashing Armageddon upon what remains of the rest of the world. Using pieces of old-tech that have survived the calamitous Sixty-Minute War that had wiped out current civilisation, Thaddeus is putting in place the final pieces of his plan to build the aforementioned super-weapon MEDUSA, and had many years earlier killed Hester’s mother Pandora to obtain a crucial piece of the weapon.
As you might expect, Tom and Hester starts off as rivals before forming an unlikely partnership that has romantic entanglements as well. Alas too little attention is paid to the evolving relationship dynamic between the teenage couple, so much so that when the bickering exiles supposedly develop feelings for each other in the third act, we’re left feeling unconvinced. Thaddeus’ motivation for world-domination is never explained, relegating him therefore to a straightforward villain who is just there because the story needs one. To distract us from its under-developed key characters, Jackson (who co-wrote the script with his regular screenwriting partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens) throws in a number of interesting but otherwise superficial secondary roles that add little to the central revenge tale.
Among these, Thaddeus’ daughter Katherine (Leila George) and a scruffy local mechanic named Bevis Pod (Ronan Raftery) barely register, even though they are intended to form the resistance to Thaddeus’ plan from within. Faring the best is the notorious outlaw Anna Fang (Korean singer/actress Jihae), who plays the equivalent of the swaggering kick-butt space pirate for all its worth, although you’d hoped that there was somehow more to the back-story between Anna and Pandora. And perhaps the most ill-conceived of them all is Shrike (Stephen Lang), one of them stalkers whom Thaddeus releases from captivity to track and kill Hester; without giving away too much, let’s just say that Shrike and Hester share a complicated father-daughter bond that is so poorly handled that we almost burst out laughing at the former’s denouement.
These narrative flaws ultimately reduce what could have been a sweeping dystopian epic into little more than a series of imaginatively realised environments, locations and cities. In particular, we wish we had more time exploring the English capital, whose landmarks such as St. Paul’s Cathedral and the London Eye have been intriguingly repurposed. Indeed, there was much potential in the story itself – including its themes of ‘municipal Darwinism’ and contrast of East and West cultures – but much of that is lost amidst a hectic, even frenetic, need to rush from set-piece to set-piece, while neglecting both plot and character to add up to something more poignant. Such are its mortal sins, and as much as we appreciate how this is a labour of love for Jackson and his Wingnut Films, we suspect it is after all too weak and uncompelling to kickstart a whole new sci-fi franchise.
Movie Rating:
(Visually spectacular but otherwise clunky and derivative, this wannabe franchise starter does some impressive world-building that unfortunately cannot make it for its lack thereof in plot- and character-building)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Donovan Marsh
Cast: Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Common, Linda Cardellini, Toby Stephens, Michael Nyqvist
RunTime: 2 hrs 1 min
Rating: NC-16 (Some Violence)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/HunterKillerMovie
Opening Day: 25 October 2018
Synopsis: Deep under the Arctic Ocean, American submarine Captain Joe Glass (Gerard Butler, Olympus Has Fallen, 300) is on the hunt for a U.S. sub in distress when he discovers a secret Russian coup is in the offing, threatening to dismantle the world order. With crew and country on the line, Captain Glass must now assemble an elite group of Navy SEALs to rescue the kidnapped Russian president and sneak through enemy waters to stop WWIII.
Movie Review:
Had it been released two decades ago, ‘Hunter Killer’ would have been the very definition of a blockbuster; but in this day and age, you’d probably have expected it to have a direct-to-Netflix or on-demand release. Yet, anachronistic though it may be, this action thriller is still surprisingly old-fashioned fun, reminiscent of a time before when the reason we went to the movies was to be entertained in a big, loud and even dumb way. Indeed, as far as we can tell, director Donovan Marsh certainly had not intended for his film to be anything more than that, teasing no less than the start of World War III by imagining how the United States and Russia may push each other towards the brink of nuclear war.
Oh yes, there is something utterly Tom Clancy about its premise, which sees Gerard Butler command the eponymous submarine USS Arkansas to investigate the disappearance of an American submarine in the Barents Sea. That missing vessel had been trailing a Russian submarine before it disappeared, so Captain Joe Glass’s bosses at the Pentagon think that the Russians might have been behind it. Glass arrives at his quarry’s last known location to find it and its Russian counterpart sunk at the bottom of the sea, though unlike the American one that was torpedoed, it seems like the explosion which breached the hull of the Russian sub was an act of sabotage from the inside.
While much of the action takes place within the confines of Glass’ hunter killer, there is a fair bit going on above the surface. The megalomaniac Russian defence minister (Mikhail Gorevoy) has staged a coup against his own President (Alexander Diachenko) at the Polyarny naval base, all of which is witnessed live inside the Pentagon thanks to a group of four Black Ops commandos (led by Toby Stephens’ badass leader Bill Beaman) who were secretly dispatched to gather such ground intel. Whereas the hawkish Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Gary Oldman) wants to use firepower against firepower, Rear Admiral John Fisk (Common) and NSA whiz Jayne Norquist (Linda Cardellini) at the Pentagon devise a plan for Glass and his crew to assist Beaman in a rescue operation that will pull the nations back from the brink of war.
Don’t assume too quickly that you have the movie all figured out; adapting from the 2012 book ‘Firing Point’ that you’ve probably never heard before, screenwriters Arne Schmidt and Jamie Moss manage a couple of surprising turns even while treading through somewhat familiar territory. Most notably, this isn’t just alpha-male American jingoism, especially as Glass opts to save the commander of the sunken Russian sub (the late Michael Nyqvist) and eventually comes to work with him to sail through the booby-trapped waters leading to the Russian military base. Even the showdown between Glass’ sub and a Russian destroyer doesn’t quite unfold the way you’re probably thinking it would, with the writers opting for a much more strategic game of cat-and-mouse than one purely based on American weaponry superiority.
But just as any submarine thriller worth its weight, ‘Hunter Killer’ boasts more than a number of white-knuckle sequences that tap fully on the feeling of claustrophobia and dread being in such enclosed quarters. The USS Arkansas’ run-in with a Russian sub lying-in-wait for them when they first reach the Barents Sea is gripping to say the least; so too the voyage through the narrow stretch of deep waters leading to Polyarny where silence and precision manoeuvring are key. Also noteworthy is the daring night-time raid into the heavily fortified Polyarny base by the Black Ops, before the extended climax that flits busily between the action above (where the US and Russian fleets are moving into place on the command of Oldman’s Admiral Donnegan and Gorevoy’s Minister Durov respectively) and that below (where Glass struggles to evade the Russian destroyer). Kudos to Marsh for pulling off the action so confidently and thrillingly, never letting the pace flag throughout the two-hour duration.
Those expecting Butler to slug it out with the baddies mano-a-mano style will probably be disappointed – not only does he spend pretty much the entire movie under the waves, he doesn’t even physically throw a punch at anyone. But ‘Hunter Killer’ is better off without him doing so, and perfectly suspenseful and exciting stuff nonetheless, especially if you’re in the mood for a good old-fashioned military action thriller. Oh yes, it’s too easy to diss such films, but the ones well-done like this offer some simple, unadulterated adrenaline-pumping pleasures. Even though its geopolitical context may be incongruous with the current climate, there is a simple message about being patriots and yet getting along that is not only befitting but enduring.
Movie Rating:
(As anachronistic as it may seem, this is nonetheless a good old-fashioned military thriller that offers plenty of white-knuckle suspense, with a couple of nice surprises thrown in)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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BOOK REVIEW #26: WHO IS MICHAEL OVITZ?Posted on 16 Oct 2018 |
Genre: Drama
Director: Liu Jie
Cast: Yang Mi, Guo Jingfei, Lee Hong-Chi, Wang Yanjun
RunTime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Filmgarde
Official Website:
Opening Day: 19 October 2018
Synopsis: When 20-year-old Meng (Yang Mi), who was abandoned at birth because of a genetic disorder sees a child facing the same fate, she finds herself trying to persuade the child’s parents to reconsider and goes to extreme lengths to save the child. The stakes are high, not only for this newborn teetering between life and death, but for our heroine, whose own humble life is suddenly galvanized with purpose. Baby, executive-produced by Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-Hsien, sweeps you up in its propulsive drama and doesn't let go until its conclusion.
Movie Review:
How far would you go to save the life of an imperfect child, if you believe that someone who has been born with a genetic disorder is such?
That is the crux of the narrative of writer-director Liu Jie’s social realist drama ‘Baby’, which is really a story of two parts – one, the foster child Meng (Yang Mi), who is turning 18 and can no longer under the law stay with her guardian; two, the new father Xu (Guo Jingfei), who has to decide whether to preserve the life of his severely ill baby or let her die a natural death.
The lives of these individuals intersect when Meng takes up a job as a cleaning lady at the hospital where Xu’s wife had given birth, and is indignant that Xu has decided not to go ahead with a key operation to preserve his daughter’s life. So Meng goes on her own quest to save the baby, including confronting Xu at his residence, contacting the police, and even stealing his baby from the hospice Xu has left her in in order to bring her back to the hospital for treatment.
The quest itself has deep personal significance for Meng: she had the same congenital malformations when she was born, and managed to survive only after six subsequent operations. Yet Xu thinks that extending the life of his child would be akin to prolonging her suffering, and is of the view that he is simply taking the compassionate option in the child’s best interests. It is this ethical dilemma that Liu brings to the fore over the course of his movie, which defies any easy answers or straightforward conclusions.
At the same time, Liu has never shied away from tackling social issues in his films, and here he trains his sights on the foster care system in China. Without directly critiquing the system, Liu highlights the coldness of the regulations, which while for good reason may not want the foster children to eventually become a burden to the family which had taken care of them, neglects the emotional bond that would inevitably be formed. You can almost feel Liu’s indignation in Meng’s, as she is forced to see her foster mother being sent to an elderly home just because the law doesn’t allow her to stay with her mother anymore.
Frankly, there are little surprises in the story, or for that matter, much surprising about the characters themselves. Ultimately, the plot and the characters which inhabit it are but a device for Liu to illustrate the very human consequences of the law in his country’s social governance and therefore the gaps which he feels need to be addressed. Seen in that light, you can forgive the simplistic character definitions here – whether Meng, Xu, or Meng’s deaf-mute childhood friend Xiao Jun (Lee Hong-chi) whom inadvertently becomes an accomplice in her illegal baby-snatching deed.
There is no artifice, theatrics or histrionics to Liu’s filmmaking; in order to respect the sanctity of the issues which he raises in the movie, Liu keeps it gritty, realistic and authentic every step of the way. Ditto his lead actress Yang Mi, who pulls off the role of a determined, convicted and courageous one-woman crusader convincingly. It’s a departure from the usual archetypes she plays, and Yang impresses by simply keeping her performance grounded and restrained.
That ‘Baby’ hasn’t caught on with its domestic audience as much as other socially conscious comedies have is a bit of a pity; after all, it is very much a well-intentioned film, with an important message at the centre. Still, even though the context may be different, it remains very much an emotionally resonant film, one which also leaves you with much food for thought over the value of human life and what we may lose as a society with a legalistic application of our laws. It is certainly one of the mature dramas we’ve seen in Chinese cinema, so we’d urge you to give this ‘Baby’ a chance to show you what it can be worth.
Movie Rating:
(Yang Mi's grounded performance anchors a thought-provoking film that raises both ethical and social issues about foster children and those born with genetic disabilities)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Kim Sung-hoon
Cast: Hyun Bin, Jang Dong-gun, Jo Woo-jin, Jeong Man-sik, Lee Sun-bin, Kim Eui-sung, Jo Dal-hwan, Park Jin-woo
RunTime: 2 hrs 2 min
Rating: NC16 (Violence)
Released By: Clover Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 1 November 2018
Synopsis: Neither dead nor alive, demons are rampant in Joseon. With his home country on the verge of collapse, Prince Ganglim (HYUN Bin) returns to Joseon, only to be greeted with peasants who seem to be infected with a mysterious virus. He is forced to kill his own people alongside Baron Park (JO Woo-jin) and his men, and he unwillingly joins their crusade to eliminate all the demons before they reach the royal palace. Meanwhile, Minister of War Kim Ja-joon (JANG Dong-gun) has his eyes set on the throne and uses his authority and influence to gather enough support to dethrone the king and uses the virus to create chaos in the palace…
Movie Review:
Zombies are all the rage these days. The undead creatures created through the reanimation of human corpses have broken loose and have been spotted in a Singapore army camp, a German town and on a train to Busan. Looks like these hordes of the living dead are an international bunch.
Apparently, zombies have been terrorising humans since the Joseon dynasty. And why not? Considering the popularity of South Korean films and TV series that are set the era which lasted for about five centuries, it is definitely a commercially viable decision to make a South Korean period movie about zombies.
And when you have two very popular Oppas agreeing to take on the leading roles of your production, it is almost guaranteed that the film will be a hit. It sure helps that the two men come in the form of Hyun Bin (The Negotiation) and Jang Dong Gun (My Way).
Hyun plays a prince (why not, right?) who returns to his hometown and finds people turning into zombies. As he tries to uncover the truth behind why a mysterious virus has been infected his countrymen, he has to deal with a villainous war minister (Jang flexing his acting chops) who is plotting to take over the kingdom.
Ah, nothing beats a game of politics where bad guys scheme to overthrow royalty and good guys outsmarting them to save the day. Here, it is mixed with a popular horror genre to make things interesting. It is refreshing to see the creatures (complete with their rotten faces and milky white eyes) limping around in elaborate traditional Korean costumes and hairdos. When they run amok by the tens and hundreds, it is a sight to behold on the big screen.
The production values of this movie are impressive. The sets are gorgeously built, the zombie makeup sends a chill down your spine, the cinematography is blockbuster worthy and the well choreographed action scenes are engaging to watch. It is also notable that the film did not get watered down to cater to a larger group of viewers (it is rated NC16: Violence here), and there is a generous amount of bloodshed throughout the 122 minute movie.
Director Kim Sung Hoon also knows how to make use of the leading men’s popularity to the film’s advantage. After working with Hyun on Confidential Agreement (2017), Kim makes sure the 36 year old actor gets his fair share of close ups and heroic moments. Fans will be pleased the characterisation of the crown prince he portrays. Jang’s brooding good looks are aptly on display as he takes on the role of the antagonist. Without giving away too much, the last act of the movie sees the 46 year old in fine form.
Supporting characters come in the form of a goofy assistant, a team of devious ministers and a crew of courageous heroes. The ladies don’t get to do much here in the male dominated movie – one is a sharp shooter while the other is a damsel in distress. But hey, we clearly know viewers are paying good money to see Hyun and Jang, who are real life best friends, to appear in the same movie.
Movie Rating:
(Hyun Bin and Jang Dong-gun are impressive leading men in this fresh take on the zombie genre)
Review by John Li
SYNOPSIS: In 1905, a drifter on a dangerous mission to rescue his kidnapped sister tangles with a sinister religious cult on an isolated island.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Following a consecutive string of balls-out action spectacles featuring the Indonesian martial art of silat, the bravura Welsh stylist Gareth Evans returns to his home ground for a Gothic horror that needs to be seen to be believed. Yet that statement must come with a responsible note of caution: those who are faint-hearted, or who cannot deal with graphic depictions of snapped necks, crushed limbs and drilled heads, should best stay away, for it does get pretty intense throughout the entire of its third act.
The titular religious man here is Thomas Richardson (Dan Stevens), who journeys to the fictional isle of Erisden to rescue his sister Andrea (Lucy Boynton) that has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. There on the secluded island, he finds a quasi-religious community living under the strict rules of its prophet Father Malcolm (Michael Sheen). It isn’t long after his arrival that Father Malcolm realises that there is an intruder among their midst, but a group interrogation where Thomas by happenstance saves Father Malcolm from an assassin sent by the Government buys him time to continue his search for Andrea.
It is clear right from the start that there is something a lot more sinister happening on the island – the soil is toxic, the life-stock cannot seem to give birth, and its community of believers place a nightly offering of their blood in glass jars outside their rooms or houses before they go to bed. But Evans is in no hurry to reveal just what God the community is worshipping, or for that matter, an old woman who keeps appearing to Thomas in his visions; instead, he spends the first hour setting up a number of subplots that you know will eventually come to a head at the same time.
There is a naïve young man Jeremy (Bill Milner) having an illicit romance with Ffion (Kristine Froseth), whose father happens to Father Malcolm’s brutish right-hand man Quinn (Mark Lewis Jones); there is also a budding romance between Thomas and Father Malcolm’s daughter Jennifer (Elen Rhys); and last but not least, there is Andrea herself, whom Father Malcolm parades in the village and threatens to kill if her co-conspirator does not step forward. Only after these are established does Evan pull back the curtain to show the true horror – the old woman of Thomas’ dreams imprisoned in tree roots and force-fed blood and entrails, in order that she once again manifest her supernatural powers which had once given life to this community.
To Evans’ credit, the movie unfolds with an eerie, slow-burn atmosphere that keeps you intrigued throughout its intricate set-up; but those expecting the same restraint in the latter half of the movie will probably be utterly shocked. So you know what you’re in for, Quinn will discover that Ffion is pregnant with Jeremy’s child, slaughter her for being impure, frame Jeremy for the murder when he returns, and then proceed to advance a cleansing ritual which will see his head pierced from the top with a giant corkscrew. And that is only the prelude to the blood-soaked madness which follows, that we guarantee will leave even the most stout-hearted unsettled.
Even for cult-centric movies, we must say that ‘Apostle’ is probably one of the most disturbing of the lot. As over-the-top as its visual gore does get, there is in fact a cautionary tale here about the intoxicating power of religion, which can be so powerful as to make its believers lose all sense of logic or human decency and be exploited by its wielders as a tool of control. It is no coincidence that Thomas happens to be a deeply scarred missionary whose own experience spreading the Word to China recounted in a flashback has caused him to surrender his own faith totally, and what he feels the need to dull himself from every night with opium.
Much of the movie rests on the shoulders of Thomas’ evolution from spy to anti-hero, and by association Stevens’ masterfully subdued performance. You’ll most likely recognise Stevens from the upper-crust Crowley clan, but here he strips away all manner of grace for a gritty portrayal of a wounded man who is as in need of redemption as he is to save others. Even when he finally steps up to become the reluctant saviour of the community from its own delusion, Stevens never overplays the role and holds the movie commandingly from start to finish.
If it isn’t yet apparent, ‘Apostle’ won’t be everyone’s idea of entertainment, seeing as how brutal and bloody it does get. Yet as a mystery horror, it is confidently mounted and suspensely directed, with much to praise about its art direction, cinematography and sheer atmosphere. Oh yes, among the crop of Halloween-timed new releases this year, Evans’ study of belief, religion and blind worship is truly one of the most original, and perhaps one of the most horrifying to watch. True, Evans has never shied away from savagery even in ‘The Raid’ and ‘The Raid 2’, but this is quite something else; and like we warned you at the start, you’d best prepare yourself for some stomach-churning horror before you Netflix this one in..
MOVIE RATING:
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Action
Director: Raymond Yip
Cast: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Eva Huang, Wang Bao Qiang, Yasuaki Kurata
Runtime: 1 hr 27 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Violence)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website:
Opening Day: 8 November 2018
Synopsis: Following the showdown on Tsing Ma Bridge, He-Ying (Donnie Yen) and Sao are missing after falling into the sea. The struggle soon becomes the talk of the town, even May is followed by paparazzi. She hides in her friend’s home to avoid being interviewed while searching for He Ying. After finding him, Yuanlong (Simon Yam) and Niehu head to Beijing with He Ying to search for the Golden Wheel of Time. As Yuanlong tells his life after being defrosted 18 years earlier, and how he has been searching for them. He Ying believes every word he says, not knowing that he is slowly being led to a trap…
Movie Review:
Four years after the laughably absurd ‘Iceman’, the concluding chapter of what was intended as a two-part movie saga is finally seeing the light of day, although judging by what we’ve seen, it would probably have been better for everyone involved for the sequel to have stayed on ice. Oh yes, despite keeping our expectations firmly in check, we were still left utterly astounded by how abysmally bad ‘Iceman: The Time Traveller” is. There is the barest semblance of a story, hardly any continuity or logic to the chain of events, and just about the worst acting we’ve seen of an ensemble in recent time. No one – not even Donnie Yen, who has publicly distanced himself from the release of this movie – can and should be excused from this utter embarrassment, which has been deservedly dealt an ignominious box-office reception back home in China.
Right from the very lengthy narration by Yen’s noble Ming dynasty general He Ying, you’d already get the sense that something is off. Some philosophical mumbo-jumbo about time, space and fate precedes what is essentially an extended recap of the first movie, in which He Ying had awoken in present-day Hong Kong and found himself pursued by three of his fellow blood brothers Cheung/ Yuanlong (Simon Yam), Niehu (Yu Kang) and Sao (Wang Baoqiang), culminating in what was an epic fight on the Tsing Ma bridge. To no one’s surprise, He Ying survives the fall off the bridge, and is freed from the morgue by Cheung, who also breaks Niehu out of police custody. The trio then journey to Beijing, where they make an unnecessary pitstop at the Forbidden City before landing up in a cave where the time-traveling orb they seek has been buried.
By that point, it should be manifestly clear that there are plenty of gaps in continuity, probably arising from a combination of the producers deciding to cut their losses (and not invest further money in shooting/ re-shooting additional scenes) and the stars deciding to do likewise too. Notwithstanding, that doesn’t excuse the haphazard plotting by veteran Hong Kong screenwriter Manfred Wong, consisting random detours (such as He Ying and May helping two Chinese revolutionaries on board a moving train in 1920s China foil the Tanaka Plan), gratuitous additions (such as a love triangle among He Ying and his past and present day lovers) and downright illogical actions (like Yuanlong allowing He Ying to simply walk away after having set up an ambush for him involving a whole contingent of armed guards). Even from what was filmed, it’s clear the story needed a whole lot more work.
It doesn’t help that director Raymond Yip – to whom this sequel is credited to, even though former director Law Wing Cheong had apparently filmed both parts back to back – rushes from scene to scene as if fearful to dwell too long on any particular event. So amidst a flurry of scenes, you’ll just barely be able to follow how Ho Ying returns to his family in Taoyuan village to change the course of history and avert an impending massacre, Yuanlong’s nefarious plans to join forces with the Japanese General Hojo (Yasuaki Kurata) and overthrow the young Ming emperor, and last but not least how Sao is killed by Niehu while trying to stop General Hojo. There’s really no point trying to keep track of what’s going on given how muddled it all is, and especially not when it all culminates in an ambiguous ending that like the opening tries its best to get all philosophical yet again.
But to be sure, the fault lies as much with Yen and his co-stars. Yen’s performance is as dull, wooden and aloof as you’ve ever seen him, and it looks like he gave up on the movie even during filming itself. You can tell too from the lacklustre fight scenes, which though poorly choreographed by Yu Kang, are just as sloppily executed by Yen. Yam fares no better, and seems content to wear the same smug from scene to scene. Huang and her fellow female co-star Maggie (who plays He Ying’s previous lover) seem at a lost what to do with their respective characters, while Yu and Wang appear to be sleepwalking through familiar personas they can play with their eyes closed. Like we said, none of the actors look like they invested any effort, commitment or inspiration in the film, therefore dooming the movie long before audiences gave up on it.
As much as you might be keen to check out how bad this movie is because you’ve either seen the first movie or read the ongoing spat between Yen and the producers, we’d advise you to simply divert your curiosity someplace else. This is not a case of so-bad-it’s-good, but one of so-so-so-bad, for so many reasons that obviously go beyond the box-office outcome of its 2014 predecessor. It might have sounded like a good idea to have Yen take over one of Yuen Biao’s more memorable roles, but seeing as how the two ‘Iceman’ movies have turned out, we say it was probably one of Yen’s worst career choices ever. Here’s our final word of advice: save yourselves the agony of sitting through 87 minutes of pure tedium, and at least you won’t have your impression of all those involved tainted with the stain of this humiliation.
Movie Rating:
(Illogical, incoherent and irredeemable, this long-delayed sequel is so abysmally bad it should have been kept in deep freeze forever)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Jeffrey Lau
Cast: Vincent Zhao, Andy On, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan, Dennis To, Ashin Shu, Madina Memet, Steven Zhang
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: Encore Films and Golden Village Pictures
Official Website:
Opening Day: 1 November 2018
Synopsis: A young comic artist, Fei Ying Xiong, is constantly receiving crude satire from his superior and love rival, Zhang Peng. When his work “Kung Fu League” was rejected by Zhang Peng and at the same time misunderstood his crush Bao’er (Madina Memet) for looking down on his poor status, Fei Ying Xiong prayed that the heroes in his work would come to life and help him. His wish came true with the four Kung Fu masters - Wong Fei-hung, Huo Yuan Jia, Ip Man and Chen Zhen traveling together to the modern era to help Fei Ying Xiong win Bao’er’s heart. To accomplish the task, the four masters agreed to train Fei Ying Xiong for a martial arts competition so he could win the prize money and Bao’er’s heart. Will the four Kung Fu masters be able to accomplish the task and travel back to their respective era?
Movie Review:
It did sound like an exciting idea for a movie to bring together four of the most iconic martial arts legends – namely, Chinese folk hero Wong Fei Hung, Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man, fictional character Chen Zhen and Chinese martial artist Huo Yuan Jia. It did sound even more promising knowing that Vincent Zhao, who played Wong Fei Hong in the ‘Once Upon a Time in China’ film and television series, would be reprising the role here; and that Dennis To, who played Ip Man in the 2010 flick ‘The Legend is Born’, would similarly reprise his role here; and that Danny Chan Kwok Kwan, known for his resemblance to Bruce Lee, would be taking on Chen Zhen; and last but not least, that martial arts-trained Andy On would be playing Huo Yuan Jia.
We were even prepared to go along with ‘Kung Fu League’ after knowing that it was a time-travelling action comedy, where these four legends would be somehow transported to modern day to take down some bad guys. Yes, Donnie Yen’s 2014 action comedy ‘Iceman’ that employed a similar premise didn’t quite turn out so well, but hey at least the director at the helm here is Jeffrey Lau, who was behind some of Stephen Chow’s classic comedies like ‘All for the Winner’ and ‘A Chinese Odyssey Part I and II’ and is known for having his own quirky comedic sensibilities. Alas, all that apparent potential which ‘Kung Fu League’ had is ultimately squandered in a completely unfunny movie that, most unforgivingly, cannot even get its action right.
You’ll suspect something was off right from the get-go, which introduces us in present day to the nerdy cartoonist Fei Yingxiong (Ashin Shu), who happens to be in love with the same girl Bao-er (Vicky) as his boss Zhang Peng (Zhang Ziwen). Fei is humiliated and fired by Zhang after a fellow colleague stumbles upon him sneaking a love letter into Bao-er’s bag and mistakenly accuses him for theft. Because it so happens to be his birthday, an utterly despondent Fei decides to use his birthday wish to ask for help from the aforementioned martial arts heroes, that are also the characters in his latest comic book sketch. Yeah, you got that right, it isn’t so much as taking down some bad guys that these four legends have been called upon to present day, as it is to help some young man win the affections of the girl he loves.
And so just like that, Master Wong wakes up from a dream involving a giant mermaid to find himself on a movie set within the Hengdian World Studios. Ditto the other three grandmasters, whose journey to find their way home brings them to the venue for a World Wushu Contest. Turns out the said contest has been organised by none other than Zhang Peng himself, who is holding the competition in order that his AI-powered suit of armour may learn the moves of these top pugilists and win over Bao-er. Indeed, it is this selfish quest for love which drives everything else in the movie – even Master Wong’s very motivation to fight in fact, as he loses all motivation to survive after discovering that his love Thirteenth Aunt is in love with someone else.
Gone is the sense of justice and righteousness that our heroes used to stand for; here, it is all about love, love and love, even if it means reducing these heroes whom we admire to caricatures. Not a single one of them is spared – not Chen Zhen who has no other role than to lavish praise on his master Huo Yuan Jia’s good looks and charms; or Huo Yuan Jia, who is obviously enamoured with himself and is revealed early on to be Thirteenth Aunt’s other lover; or Master Wong, who when he finally realises he is being cuckolded, stands stationary in the ring and asks his opponent (Bruce Leung) to beat him to his death – except for Master Ip, who likely due to IP (read: intellectual property) issues with the real-life character, is revealed later on to be no more than an impostor called Ip No Man.
It’s one thing to poke fun at these characters, and another to mock them, but unfortunately, Lau’s ‘Kung Fu League’ is unable to tell the difference. We can take the fish-out-of-water jokes, such as when our heroes board a subway car with their horses in tow, but having them exchange kisses with each other so they can get a free meal at McDonalds feels to us like utter disrespect. Those looking for some credible martial arts action will also be severely disappointed, as action director Leung Siu-hung seems to have no qualms overdosing on wirework, even to the extent of rendering some of our characters with the gift of flight. We’re not sure whether Leung gave up on the movie or just couldn’t bother, but there is no attempt at all to honour the unique fighting styles across the various grandmasters, which to us defeats the purpose of gathering them in the same movie in the first place.
Frankly speaking, we were not just disappointed by the movie; we were even disgusted by it – disgusted at how Lau decided to bring them together just to insult them all at one go; disgusted at why these credible martial arts actors Vincent Zhao, Andy On, Danny Kwok and Dennis To would deign to play these beloved characters in such disreputable ways; and disgusted at how the promise of watching these characters onscreen at the same is but a ruse to get audiences into this crap excuse of a movie. That the movie dares to call itself ‘Kung Fu League’ is a disgrace to the word ‘kung fu’ itself, and we wouldn’t feel any regret if no one offered Lau a movie to direct after this. This is hands down one of the worst movies of the year, so spread the word and stay away.
Movie Rating:
(If you love any of the four martial arts legends this movie has been sold on, you'd do well to stay away from this disgusting action comedy that has no qualms humiliating, disrespecting and debasing them)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Director: Azhar Kinoi Lubis
Cast: Putri Ayudya, Sujiwo Tejo, Indah Permatasari, Rangga Azof, Nadya Arina
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: PG13 (Horror)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment and Cathay Cineplexes
Official Website:
Opening Day: 8 November 2018
Synopsis: A family's happiness is shattered when their father dies a sudden gruesome death after spitting up glass. Soon, mysterious events begin plaguing the family and their village. The mother, Sri, begins to experience disturbing occult visions, making her increasingly paranoid and fearful. The village shaman dies mysteriously and his house is burnt to the ground. Circumstances escalate at a deadly pace, forcing the children Andi and Dina to make a fateful decision that will unroot the cause of their father’s mysterious death and save their mother.
Movie Review:
We often scoff when see a horror movie originating from Southeast Asia. A possessed doll, a dead mother haunting her family, a girl who sees spirits and a woman who dabbles with black magic – everything does sound laughable at first but trust us, things are just a little creepier in this part of the world where it’s closer to home, forests seem darker than usual and dead people are more likely to send shivers down your spine.
And that is why Singaporeis seeing increasing numbers of Southeast Asian productions like this Indonesian movie banking on the ever popular horror genre.
In this movie directed by Azhar Kinoi Lubis, a seemingly happy family has to deal with the tragedy of the father’s death. Things are sad at first, but terror starts invading the house when the mother becomes another person. The son and his girlfriend are helpless, while the daughter wants to get to the bottom of things by uncovering a terrifying family secret. In the mix is a village witch doctor who concocts scary potions which promise the world for desperate individuals, but will only bring about devastating results.
The 97 minute movie works, thanks to its competent cast. Putri Ayudya plays the mother of the family, and one can easily imagine the distress the character is going through. The two children portrayed by Rangga Azof and Nadya Karina display genuinely frightened expressions, and one does not feel that they are contrived characters. Sporting a head of frizzy long hair, Sujiwo Tejo delivers a memorably daunting performance as the shaman who may have bargained with the dark side more than he should. This is the kind of shady dude your mother always warned you against.
The production values are worth commending as well. Some standout sequences involving burning fire and levitating characters will make you sit up and gasp in horror. While the movie seems to have the intention of keeping all its scares in the final act, it might have been more effective if the shocks were spaced out more evenly. The story also attempts to deliver a twist, but its impact may be lost on viewers who are fans of the genre.
In any case, there are still moments that are well executed. Jump scares are present, but they do not feel exploited. The filmmakers make good use of the limited filming locations to create a foreboding atmosphere that takes away any bits of cheer. The ongoing rain and thunder storms do not make things any better. You can feel the tension and frustration going on in the house with the editing and art direction. Will the good guys survive the ordeal although a pact has been made? What will it take for characters to believe the presence of evil (the title means ‘non believer’)? Is this the movie where viewers will come face to face with the devil?
For a movie that is rated PG13, it delivers a decent amount of scares that may make you a fan of Southeast Asian horror cinema.
Movie Rating:
(Believe your mother when she tells you to steer clear of shady people who dabble with black magic)
Review by John Li
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